


Fate's Design

by WhiteSpiritOfDarkness



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Tangled AU, Villian Deceit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-07-18 09:19:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16115453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteSpiritOfDarkness/pseuds/WhiteSpiritOfDarkness
Summary: A long time ago, a single drop of sunlight fell from the sky. For several centuries the magic of the sun went undiscovered, until the kingdom of Corona needed a miracle to save their most precious treasure.When the only son of the King and his Consort is stolen from them, it seems like the magic of the sun is lost to the world once again, until that very same magic brings together two completely different people, changing the course of destiny forever.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm jumping into the Disney AU train that I've seen going around and bringing my very own Tangled AU. I'm not quite sure how many chapters this will have, but I have the story sort of planned out already.  
> Warnings: Manipulative Deceit (he's the villian), mentions of homophobia (not much but I prefer to put it anyway). Other warnings will be posted if needed.  
> One more thing: this is written in a non-linear fashion. If you'd like to read only Roman's story, then the even chapters are your friend. If you'd like to read Logan and Patton's, the odd chapters will tell their story from the end to the beggining. You can read both stories at the same time too, especially since I'm still writing it.  
> Enjoy!

“It’s time, Logan”

The words were almost a whisper, but they seemed to echo in the stillness of the room. The man standing next to the window didn’t move.

“Please, I need you to do this with me”

“What’s the point, Patton? Why do we still do this, every year?”

Logan finally turned, and Patton’s heart broke. His eyes were red and there was certain emptiness in them. Patton knew quite well that expression; he had seen it one too many times staring back at him from his mirror.

“It’s been ten years. He’s not coming back. It’s impossible”

Logan sounded defeated and lost. Patton hated it. He hated every second he was reminded that there was nothing he could do to help him. He hated every second he had to see those tears on those empty eyes. He hated the doubts that those tears carried.

“Please, Logan”, he pleaded, crossing the room and taking his hands, fighting tears of his own. “We can’t give up. Please. For me? Can we do this together, love?”

Patton let go of Logan’s hands. If he left him alone on this, it would be his end. They had to stay together.

“Don’t cry, Patton”

He looked up. Logan reached and wiped off a tear on his cheek. Patton searched desperately within his eyes, looking for something other than hopelessness. Something to hold on to. A spark. Anything.

“We will find him, love”, said Logan, finally, and there it was, something different. 

They only had hope to go on.

“I don’t care how long it takes us. We will find him. He will come back home. I promise you, my love”

Maybe not, thought Patton as Logan took his hand and they walked out of the room and through the big corridors. Maybe they had something else as well.

They stopped in front of the large wooden doors. Patton felt Logan tensing up next to him, just like every single year. This was the hardest part.

The doors opened.

“His Majesty King Logan of Corona, and his Highness, Consort Patton of Corona”

They walked together, hand in hand. They could see the kingdom, all the people reunited in the streets, waiting for them. Waiting for the signal. Waiting to know whether they would continue the search for another year, or if this would finally be the year they gave up.  Logan cleared his throat.

“Ten years ago, we lost our greatest treasure”, he announced, his voice solemn and calm. Patton fought the impulse to run away, as he did every year. “We will not rest until we find him”

“May this night light our way to him”, said Patton, trying to sound as collected as Logan did. He failed, but he didn’t care. “May these lights unveil his path back to us”

Next to them, he saw a young servant girl light up a small paper lamp with the emblem of the kingdom. The first light of the night. Both he and Logan touched it, and, just for a second, Patton dared to hope that maybe this would be the year when they finally found him.

The small lamp started floating away from them.

And then the entire kingdom lit up with thousands of lamps, all floating towards the night sky.

“We will find you, Roman” he muttered, as the lights finally gave him hope.

 

 

Miles away, a little boy ran to his window, his round eyes reflecting the beautiful but distant lights that invaded the sky.

 

 


	2. One: The tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with an update, thank you so much to everyone who commented! I'll be updating once per week, so wait for an update around wednesday next week!

“Hey, Thomas, come look at this! It’s amazing!”

Roman lifted a pot, hoping to find the usually green reptile. Nothing. The boy huffed in annoyance. Where was his friend?

“Ok, I get it, You wanna play, but seriously! This is important! We only have a week to figure it out, we cannot waste more time, or we will have to wait a whole year”

He moved a stack of books. His room was way too messy. His entire place was too messy. He needed to find Thomas, where was he? The kitchen? He had not checked the kitchen yet.

How was it possible that there was such a mess in such a small space? Roman sighed, giving up on finding Thomas. His friend was a chameleon, there was no finding him unless he wanted to be found. However, he did need to tidy up before DC came to visit. He didn’t want to make him mad.

“Alright, you win this round. I’m going to be busy for a couple hours, so you can bask in your glory all you want”, he announced to the empty room. Thomas would hear, and maybe then he would appear from wherever it was that he was hiding in.

He had important things to do, anyway. Everything needed to go according to plan.

 

 

Life sometimes wasn’t fair.

Really, now. It was totally unfair. All he’d done was take a little something that wasn’t his to take. Really, it happened all the time. 

Well, maybe not everyone tried to break into the castle and steal a very valuable crown, but still. It wasn’t like the crown would ever be worn by the person it was meant for. He, however, could find it a good use. Someone would pay him quite handsomely for it, and then he could…

Better not dwell too much on it. He still had to get out of the citadel without being caught, which was proving to be far more complicated that he originally thought. To be fair, he hadn’t expected his partner to chicken out on him right in the middle of the plan. He was lucky he even made it out of the castle to begin with. He supposed he should feel bad for the poor guy who had with no doubt been captured already, but he couldn’t think of a plan to escape and feel bad at the same time. He wasn’t that good at multitasking yet.

Before he could get too worked up about not being great at multitasking, he stopped behind a cart full of vegetables left in front of a house to gather his thoughts for a minute. So, he was alone, he was being chased by at least fifteen guards, he had the crown inside his bag and his damned heart was refusing to slow down. He could still hear the noise coming from the guards, but it was getting further away. Breathe, he ordered himself. He needed to think. He needed to get out of there, so what should he do first? What would the best course of action be? He needed something good enough to get him outside the city without raising suspicions, and then he could hide in the forest for a few days, until the commotion had died somewhat and he could make his way to the spot where the dealer would be waiting.

He still had a week left, but with the mess… He shaked his head and pressed himself against the dirty ground when he heard footsteps coming closer. Between the cart and the wall of the house, it was enough to hide him for a while, until the guards truly started to look for him; it wouldn’t be long. His other option was… well, hoping to outrun the guards and escape before they closed the gates. It wasn’t ideal, either.

He peered from underneath the cart. The street appeared to be empty, but it wouldn’t last. When the guards realized that he wasn’t trying to get to the Western Gate, they would retrace their steps and then he would be trapped again. He needed to move fast.

There was a bundle of clothing on top of the cart, which he now realized was full exclusively of cabbages. He took what turned out to be a black cloak and put it around his shoulders. If he was going to run, then so be it. He pulled the hood up to cover his face.

Luckily for him, he really wasn’t trying to get to any of the gates.

As soon as he crawled from behind the cabbages cart a man screamed, prompting every person in the street to turn to look at him.

“It’s him! It’s the Angel thief!”

_Yes_ , he thought. _That’s me_. He flashed the guy a smirk before turning on his heels and running as fast as he could, leaving the confused multitude too stunned to think of calling the guards.

Everything was going according to plan.

 

 

Thomas turned out to be asleep inside a flower pot. The small chameleon was curled around its own tail, not unlike a cat would. Roman smiled softly, watching his little friend breathe softly.

Sometimes, in the quiet moments, he felt lonely. Those moments when his own voice wasn’t filling the air, when Thomas wasn’t standing on his shoulder. The tower was too big and too small at the same time, with its walls and its ceiling that made him feel trapped and scared. The windows weren’t big enough for him to escape flying, but they were wide enough for him to contemplate the world he had never really seen. The reds and browns and whites and golds on the décor made him long for more, for different colors and different textures and different faces.

He knew that he’d eventually get out. He knew why he had to stay in the tower. His golden hair and golden eyes betrayed who he was, and he wasn’t yet strong enough to live with that. If anyone got word of where he was…

Roman knew it wasn’t good to think about those matters. The clock ticked in the background as the last remains of the morning morphed into the warmth of the early afternoon. The drawing on the walls, the books piled up in one corner, the curtains that separated his bedroom from the rest the tower, all seemed to hold their breath. It wouldn’t be long until he arrived, and Roman’s heart sped up, his thoughts replaced with fierce determination. Everything was clean, not a single thing out of place. His hair was well combed and pulled into a knot at the back of his head, not a single strand out of place. Everything had to be perfect if he wanted his plan to work.

_Any moment now_ , he thought.

 He felt more than heard the rumble of the earth far away underneath him, the rumble that signaled the magical lock being opened, a rumble that made Roman’s heart twist painfully in his chest. If he concentrated, he would be able to hear the steps going up the stairs, and in a matter of minutes the keys would tingle just before the door covered with a red curtain swung open. He could imagine him, covered in a black cape and a hat to hide his face, carrying a lit candle with him, the shadows moving around him as he made his way towards the living space in the tower, each step echoing in the dark. Roman had never seen the stairs, but he knew how dark they were.

A tingling sound. A soft click. The heavy wooden door being opened.

“Roman, _dear,_ I’m so glad to see you again”

The man looked the same as always, if not more tired than usual. His dark clothes had dust from the road, his yellow gloves hiding his hands and his hat casting a shadow over the left side of his face, making the ever-present scar almost disappear. He was tall and somber, a serious but fond expression taking over his features.

“Dad” he said softly, before smiling and running up to him, just as DC closed the door behind him. Roman’s arms closed around the man, breathing in the bitter smell of dust and almonds he carried with him from the road. If he had been using the cyanide again, it really had been too long since the last time he’d been there.

“I’ve missed you, flower” said his father as he moved away from Roman’s embrace, turning around to take off his cape and hat. Roman took them and hung them up next to the door before letting the red curtain fall.

“Will you sing for me, dear?” asked DC as soon as Roman turned back to him. Roman nodded, eager to please him, and walked over to the stool next to DC’s chair. He sat down just as his dad raised an eyebrow at him.

There was something strange there, for a second. The scars on DC’s face always looked bad when he came back, but it was almost as if they had gotten even worse during his two weeks absence.

“Is everything alright?” he dared to ask after a few seconds of silence. DC merely dismissed him with a wave of his hand and sat down at the nice chair, taking one of Roman’s hand into his own.

“Nothing should worry you, flower” he said, flashing a smile. “Now, sing”

Singing for his father was easy enough. The song was easy enough. His voice echoed in the afternoon, the soft notes breaking the silence, calming his own fluttering heart. His hair started glowing, the shoulder-length strands lighting up his face. Roman could feel the magic pouring out of him with every word of the incantation he sang, and he contemplated DC’s face relax as the scars progressively disappear, leaving behind a good-looking man of undecipherable age.

“Thank you, me dear” said DC as soon as the glow in Roman’s hair subsided. “I was starting to feel so bad, you have no idea”

“I can only imagine” he muttered, before regaining his courage. “Dad, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about”

DC frowned but gestured at him to proceed. Roman jumped out of his seat and walked to his table, where he picked up his journal. Clutching it to his chest, he turned back to DC, who was looking at him disinterest.

“Every year, with no exceptions, the floating lights appear on my birthday” he explained, opening the journal to reveal his annotations. DC now raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed by Roman’s meticulous notes.

“My biggest dream ever is to be able to watch those lights in person, dad”, admitted Roman, no longer able to hold himself back on his excitement. “My birthday is in one week and I was wondering if you could take me to watch the floating lights? I mean, I’m turning eighteen and I know how dangerous it could be but I’m not a child anymore and besides I only want to go there and then we’d be back, I thought it would be a good idea for my first time outside of the tower and- “

“You want to leave the tower?”

DC raised to full height, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Roman’s words died on his tongue. He had been so sure that it would work, that he’d be happy to take him there, to make his dream true, but…

“Roman, my flower, eighteen years are _nothing_ ” DC’s soft words were like a hit to him. “You think you are a grown up, but no, my dear. For you, for what you can do, thousands of people would hunt you down and trap you. You have grown so much, yes, but you’re still just a flower bud”.

“Yes, but- “

“But nothing” said DC, with such force that Roman shut his mouth immediately. His dad’s face softened, and he walked towards him, grabbing Roman’s face with his hands. “Roman, I’m just… I’m worried about you. You know why you can’t leave yet, why I can’t risk losing you”.

Roman sighed, but he looked at his dad in the eye. Yes, DC was concerned about him. He knew how much he had lost, how much he had to suffer to protect him when he was just a baby. The scars he cured every time were proof enough of that.

“What’s so bad about the outside world, dad?” he asked, still trying to cling onto what little hope he had.

“People aren’t nice to each other, Roman”, said DC, letting go of him and sitting once again on his chair. “Thieves, murderers, liars- all of them just hurt others, the same way they would hurt you. You’re still too innocent for the world. People love corrupting the young boys and girls they see, and you? You have something valuable. You are especial.”

“I…”

“Just promise me that you won’t ask me again, Roman”

Time slowed down as Roman swallowed back a thousand things he wanted to say. His chest felt heavy with both sadness and fear, and DC’s eyes on him, urging him to respond, were making him feel trapped and alone.

“Yes, father. I won’t”

DC broke into a smile, and opened his arms, beckoning Roman into a hug.

As his dad arms closed around him, Roman felt something bitter invading his mind. If DC didn’t want to let him walk down the stairs, he’d have to find another way out.

 

 

Hours later, as a strange man crawled through the open window of the tower and Roman resisted the impulse to scream and run, a new plan formed in his mind. Yes, he would be seeing the floating lights on his birthday, no matter what DC said.

 


	3. Two: A glimmer of hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, long time no see. Sorry for the delay, but I've finally managed to beat my writer's block and bring a new chapter.  
> To clear up some stuff: I'm planning on writing this story in a non-linear fashion; I wanna make it so that the even number chapters tell Roman's story and the odd number chapters tell Logan and Patton's. It's a bit confusing, I suppose, but I'll try my best to write it so that no one gets lost. Any question you have I'll be happy to answer.  
> Enjoy!

 

People, Patton noticed, seemed to think that tragedy was best when lived in advance, if the depressing black banners hung up around the town square were an indication. Everywhere he looked there was a sign of mourning, even if the death to be cried had not yet come to pass. Children fell into a hush as he walked by, surely attending to stern instructions given by their parents, and none of the street musicians that he had longed to hear had made an appearance in their usual busking spots. Despite the warm weather, the sidewalks were mostly empty, with the few passersby he encountered looking tired and sorrowful.

 

He knew it was partly due to his presence in the town; he’d had reports of the usual activities taking place as normal during the previous days, even if the general mood has been described to him as “mournful” by his adviser. It was so strikingly different from his last visit, when he’d walked among a much busier marketplace, and people had a smile on their faces upon seeing him. Now, it was as if the eyes of every citizen were his very own; the eyes he avoided in the mirror every morning, as if to shield himself from the ugly and unfair truth. 

 

Somewhere in the castle workshops, someone worked on a little wooden box that would take Patton’s heart with it, should it be needed. Every physician had given the same diagnose, the same dark look as they checked the eyes of the child.The baby had been sick for a fortnight already; and no one had been able to stop the burning fever that caused his wretched cries. Even adults didn’t always survive such a strong sickness; not even his husband had much hope left, and neither did any of the members of the court. The rumors followed him anywhere he went in the citadel, all the people who wondered if they would try to have a child again, if perhaps King Logan would be wiser and take a wife, if this wasn’t a sure sign that traditions were sacred and should have been respected from the beginning. 

 

Patton had to stop as a sudden burst of fury made him almost dizzy. He must have walked out of the main road a while ago; even though he recognized the little park he was currently standing in, he couldn’t quite place it in his mind. The shadows were  closer to the ground and the air was somewhat colder. Sunset was rapidly approaching. 

 

He sat down on a bench, facing a small but well tendered fountain. His eyes stung as he forced himself to hold back tears, the same he’d been doing for two weeks already. Logan had cried every night, silently, but Patton had refused to even shed a tear. How could he help anyone if he let himself be overwhelmed by emotions? His son needed him more than ever, he couldn’t be a mess, crying and wailing and being useless. Logan needed him to rule the kingdom, there were important matters to attend. The world hadn’t stopped moving just because they were suffering. There were orphans to be fed and homeless families to house. Even if Patton was unable to save his own child, there were hundreds of others he could still help. 

 

A broken laugh left his lips, a sound so full of bitterness that in a different time Patton would have been shocked. Save others? Right. No one even trusted him with his own child, how could the court be convinced that he was the best option for anything? He’d never felt more exhausted in his entire life; every day he was constantly reminded that he wasn’t enough. His family was falling apart, and people were blaming him. Of course they were; he wasn’t even the parent of the baby. No, people were far more concerned about Logan losing his only heir, and how he couldn’t have another because he’d married a man, people were wondering what the real mother thought of her baby dying because she’d been forced to give him up. People loved to talk, to whisper behind his back, and Patton pretended he couldn’t hear them. He’d been pretending for a long time, since the moment he and Logan had announced their relationship. He’d thought that he could handle anything. It turned out that watching his baby boy slowly die was far worse than anything. 

 

“Are you okay?” 

A little voice interrupted his spiraling thoughts. There was a child looking at him across the fountain, his big wide eyes full of concern and barely hidden curiosity. For a moment Patton wondered what had prompted the boy’s question, until he realized that there were tears running down his face. 

 

“I..” he started, uncertain of what to say. The boy looked young, barely past toddler age, and Patton was about to ask him about his parents when a young woman approached them. She was wearing an apron over her dress, and there were traces of soap on her arms. She looked tired and worried; the little boy must have escaped towards the park, with her following him. Her dark hair was pulled back, and for a second Patton was reminded of Saphira. Another painful memory. They hadn’t been able to save her, either, and now the child she’d helped bring to the world was suffering from the same illness that had consumed her. . 

 

“Your Highness? I’m sorry if my son interrupted you”

 

Patton shook his head, unable to speak because of the heaviness in his throat. The woman grabbed the little boy’s hand, but the child was still staring at him.

“Mom, why is he crying?”, he asked. The woman swallowed, looking lost. Patton realized that she didn’t know what to tell to her child. How do you explain a tragedy to a young person? Patton gave the boy a weak smile, before nodding lightly at the woman. 

 

“Someone I love very much is very sick, and I’m sad because of that” he said after a moment. The boy opened his mouth, but offered no reply. He seemed stunned, as if it was the first time he heard something like that. The mom tightened her grip on her son’s hand. 

 

“And who is sick?” he finally asked. The woman sighed. 

 

“Virgil, love, those questions are too personal”. She didn’t sound angry, almost as if she was used to dealing with an inappropriately curious child and was merely reminding him of an old lesson. 

 

“No, it’s okay” said Patton. The boy looked guilty for a moment and Patton didn’t like the way his little face fell. “Virgil, right?” 

 

“Yes! My name is Virgil and I’m three years old” he declared proudly. Patton chuckled, despite the pain in his heart. Would his son ever make it to three? 

“Well, Virgil, I have a baby, and my baby is very sick” he said, reaching up to push his glasses on his nose. Virgil now looked a little sad, too. “He is very little, and we’re all worried about him.” 

 

“Oh” said the child. Patton tried to give him a smile, but he couldn’t. He was too tired, and the woman must have seen it, because she pulled the boy aside.

 

“Go home, love. Soon it will be dinner time, your mom will be looking for you”, she whispered, loud enough for Pattom to hear above the rumor of the fountain. Little Virgil nodded and started running towards the other side of the park, but before the woman or Patton had time to react, he turned around and ran until he was right in front of Patton. 

 

“The magic golden flower can save your baby!” he half screamed, looking back and forth between his mother and Patton. 

 

“Virgil, go, now”. The woman ordered, looking severe for the first time. Virgil ran away, this time non stop until he disappeared down the street. 

 

“What is the magic golden flower?” Patton asked. The woman turned to him and sighed. 

 

“It’s a legend, your Highness”, she answered quietly. “My wife, who’s from the other side of the kingdom, told our son the story of a flower that came from a single drop of sunlight, ages ago. It’s said to be able to heal anything, even the passage of time.” 

 

Patton felt numb. Something that could possibly save his child, even if it was a legend, was too much. The woman was staring at him with sadness in her eyes, but he didn’t care. 

 

“Tell me the whole story, please” he begged. She gave him a worried smile before sitting next to him. 

 

“It’s only a legend. Are you sure you want to hear it?” 

 

“Please. Anything helps, I promise” he was desperate, and he knew it, and he knew she knew it. However, she just sighed once more and looked at him, 

 

“It all starts with the sun” 


	4. Three: Lizard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter? What? So soon? It's been a week. It's not that soon. Anyway, I'm sure everyone had been waiting for Roman to meet a certain person... Let me know if there's any typos or grammatical mistakes, since English is not my first language. Enjoy!

Roman had often imagined the day in which he’d finally meet another person. Needless to say, not even his wildest dream had been quite so wild. He hadn’t been expecting a stranger to crawl through his window; nor he had expected his reaction to be hitting said stranger on the head with a broom immediately upon recovering from the shock. He hadn’t expected the sudden burst of adrenaline that shot through his veins as the broom came down and the unconscious body hit the floor right at his feet.   

To be fair to himself, he had never seen anyone pass out before, even if he had read about the possible effects of whacking a person over the head with a blunt object. The book was quite unclear on how loud would the actual hit be, and for a second the idea that he might have killed the first stranger he’d ever encountered crossed his mind, followed by a rapid succession of terror, hysteria and weird pride, before realizing that no, the man was breathing and his head seemed to be in one piece still. 

There was a man unconscious on his floor. A man covered in a black cape had crawled through his window, and Roman had reacted like a scared cat, grabbing the first thing he could find and hitting almost blindly. 

DC was definitely wrong about him. He wasn’t weak or too young or too naive; clearly he could defend himself against threats, and he’d used a broom of all things. Maybe if his father taught him how to properly use a sword… 

He looked down when he felt Thomas pressing a claw against his leg, his eyes falling upon the figure sprawled at his feet. He sighed; it wasn’t the right time to wonder what his life could be like if his father wasn’t so overprotective, especially not when a crazy idea was starting to form in his mind. DC had told him that after a short visit later that day, he wouldn’t be back until a day before Roman’s birthday, claiming he had to take care of some business, and also to get him a gift. It was the same as every year since Roman was thirteen. When he was little, his father stayed with him almost all the time, but once DC was sure that Roman wouldn’t burn down the tower, he started to leave him alone for increasingly long periods of time. The longest he’d gone without seeing his father had been an entire month, during which a sixteen years old Roman painted the entire ceiling with the summer constellations. DC hadn’t been terribly impressed. 

He guessed DC would have to be impressed now. Not daring to turn his back to the stranger, Roman walked backwards to the supply closet, where he searched for rope. Thomas stayed next to the man on the floor, looking ready to both jump away and attack if the stranger did so much as moving. The reality and absurdity of the situation almost made Roman laugh hysterically. The afternoon was slowly turning into night; DC would be back one last time in a matter of minutes. He had to act fast if he wanted to put his plan into motion. 

Grabbing the rope, he walked carefully back to the stranger. Thomas jumped out of his way as Roman kneeled and took a deep breath, getting ready to hit the man again if necessary. He shared one determined look with Thomas before reaching to touch the man’s arm with a hesitant hand. 

Nothing happened, except that his fingers wrapped around soft flesh. Roman relaxed a bit, and with a firm push he flipped the man on his back. The hood fell back, revealing a head covered by longish dark brown hair that kept the man’s face out of view. The stranger was wearing  a white shirt and black pants covered in dirt, with a pair of leather boots that looked worn out but resistant, or at least they seemed that way to Roman, who had never worn a pair of shoes in his life. The black cape was pooled underneath the man, revealing a satchel next to his hip. The more Roman looked at him, the more the stranger looked like a regular traveler, young but harmless. 

“No innocent man hides in an apparently abandoned tower” he mused out loud, reaching for the satchel. The leather strap caught around the man’s shoulders, but Roman wasn’t concerned about that. Inside the bag were only a box of matches, a loaf of bread wrapped in paper, a hunting knife and something inside a smaller velvet bag. The soft, delicate fabric clashed with the other items in the satchel, which peaked Roman’s curiosity. He was about to open the bag when Thomas hit him in the arm with his tail. 

“What?” he asked, turning his head to look at his friend. Thomas was patting the paper sheet he’d thrown away after figuring the bread wasn’t really important. He picked it up, unrolling it, only to find a WANTED poster, with the face of a vaguely familiar man on it. Roman looked back at his friend, who in return moved his little head towards the stranger. 

A strand of hair obscured the top half of the man’s face, and Roman’s hands trembled a little as he reached and pushed it back carefully. The light coming from the window revealed a face much younger than Roman had been expecting. Curled eyelashes and nose slightly crooked to the left, with freckles pooling around his cheeks, his pale lips were slightly parted. The boy couldn’t be more than a couple years older than Roman, and the drawing on the poster didn’t make him any justice. The crudely inked lines were not enough to show the softness around his eyes, or the way his upper lip was a bit smaller than the other, or how his hair fell right above his eyebrows. Roman had not retreated his hand yet, and he let his fingers wander down the man’s face, tracing his profile. He was mesmerized by the contrast of flesh against flesh, his fingertips sliding along the warm cheekbone of the stranger. 

_ What the hell was he doing? _ The force of his realization made him jump back, dragging his body away from the unconscious boy. It didn’t matter that he was so beautiful, because he was a criminal, and Roman was suddenly aware of how crazily fast his heart was beating. His fingers ached where he had touched the boy’s face, and his breathing was out of control. 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid” he muttered as he got back to his knees and grabbed the man’s wrists, tying them together as best as he could with his own shaking hands. Roman could feel Thomas’ concerned look, but he was too busy trying to get himself to stop freaking out. He got up on his feet and dragged the tied up boy towards his room, where he lifted him as gently as he could and laid him on top of his bed. He grabbed a silk ribbon and tied it around the boy’s head, securing his mouth, and stepped back to admire his work. Despite having his hands and feet tied together, the boy looked peacefully asleep, and Roman felt his ears go red at the thought. Scowling, he left the room, making sure that the curtain was fully closed. Just as he picked up the satchel he heard, once again, the magical seal opening. DC was coming back  and Roman was still all rattled. Unless he got himself back under control, his father was gonna notice. 

“Thomas, please keep an eye on the boy” he whispered to his friend, who nodded (that was still a bit weird to see) and ran underneath the curtain. Roman threw the satchel hastily into the supplies closet and shut the door. He scanned the room, looking for anything that might give him away, but only found the broom on the floor and the open window. He picked up the broom at the same time he heard the key turning in the lock. He pretended to be very busy sweeping the floor when the door opened and DC pushed the red curtain aside. 

“Hi, Father” he greeted, trying his best to look normal. DC raised an eyebrow, but if he thought that Roman was doing anything strange, he didn’t comment on it. 

“Hello, my flower”, he said, not bothering to take off his gloves before taking a seat on his ornate chair and gesturing for Roman to sit next to him.

“Dad?” he dared to ask as he was putting the broom against one of the walls. DC just sighed and gestured again, with barely concealed annoyance. His father’s face was tense, his lips forming a thin line, but he didn’t seem cross at Roman. 

“We need to have a little talk, me dear”, he explained as Roman sat down on the stool. “I know I was too harsh on you earlier. Sometimes I forget how much you’ve grown, but also how much you think you’ve grown”. 

Roman said nothing, and DC looked at him for a moment, studying his face. Both the brown eye and the yellow eye were digging a hole through his soul, and the hair at the back of his neck raised up. No matter how many years he had stared into those unsettling eyes, the cold in the back of those dual pools let him shaking a bit every time. 

“You are still young”, continued DC as if nothing had happened. “I suppose you can’t be blamed for wanting to go out, but I will not tolerate you discussing this matter any further. When you are ready, I’ll tell you myself”. 

He didn’t wait for Roman to reply, simply choosing to stand and collect his hat from the table. It was Roman’s last chance to say something, to tell him how wrong he was, that he was strong and clever and-   _ What if DC never thought he was ready?  _

“There’s something I’d like for my birthday”

DC paused next to the door, the key already in one of his gloved hands. Roman was surprised at his own boldness, but it was too late to back down now. His father’s lips curled into a polite smile, one that clearly said that he better thread carefully. Roman breathed deeply and continued, proud of himself when his voice didn’t waver. 

“That quill you brought me when I was fifteen” he said, thinking fast. “I’d love to have one again” 

For a moment, Roman thought he’d refuse. The quill was expensive and getting one meant a long trip down South, at least three full days. His father had planned to be back the day before his birthday; if he took the detour to get him the gift, he’d be returning two days after Roman’s birthday… which gave him the right amount of time for him to leave and come back.  

“You have such fine tastes, my flowerbud”, finally answered his father. “It would mean that I’d miss your special day. Surely you don’t want that?” 

“I… I don’t, but…” Roman looked down, doing his best to look unsure and timid. “I thought it would be better than the other thing I mentioned”. 

He heard his father sigh and walk towards him. DC’s hands wrapped around his own, and only then Roman raised his eyes. 

“I think it’s a great idea, me dear”. His father let go of his hands and pressed a kiss to his head. The gesture always made Roman feel small and defenseless, and a sudden wave of guilt overcame him. He remembered how furious his father had been once, after finding out Roman had lied to him about something mundane, unimportant. He wondered what would happen if he ever found out what Roman was planning on doing. Roman tried not to cower as his mind conjured the memory of DC hissing at him that “ _ Lying, me dear, is the only thing I will never tolerate from you, you hear me? Never lie to me again _ ”. 

“Are you alright, flower?” Asked his father, grabbing his shoulders with a worried look on his face. Roman nodded, and reached up to take on his father’s hands into his own. 

“I’m thinking that I’ll miss you”, he lied. DC pulled him into a hug, and Roman felt like his fate had been sealed.

  
  


There was a small, green, and very pissed off reptilian on his chest. 

His first instinct would have been screaming, but there was a makeshift gag around his mouth. His hands were tied with some sort of smooth but strong rope, and an attempt to kick revealed the same about his feet. He was laying down on… a bed? The light he could see was coming from a skylight, and it wasn’t much. If he had to guess, he’d say the last rays of sunlight were the only thing keeping the room from being in total darkness. His brain felt like cotton candy, fuzzy. The edges of his vision were blurry, and the left side of his head throbbed with pain. 

He tried to move, which caused the small animal on his chest to give him a hiss. Alright, the angry lizard was guarding him. The details of just why an angry lizard was  keeping him prisoner avoided him, there was something he was missing… 

Running through the forest, trying to get away from the guards; he could remember his tired lungs and frantic heart as he managed to lose them by hiding behind a waterfall, and then falling deeper into a cavern. He vaguely remembered following the distant light at the other side of the tunnel (and for a moment he did wonder if he was dead and this was his own personal hell where a little rabid lizard tortured him for eternity), and then… the tower. 

He’d assumed it was abandoned by the looks of it, covered in strong vines all the way to the top. There seemed to be no entrance, but he’d been climbing walls and trees alike long enough to see a perfect path to the open window. Despite the forty feet climb, he thought it would be the perfect hiding place to rest and plan his next move. He hadn’t expected… what, exactly? His last memory was pushing the window, and then he felt the pain. He hadn’t expected a tiny lizard to attack him, much less to tie him up and- 

Well, obviously the lizard (which kept staring menancily at him) couldn’t have done any of those things. Or at least, he hoped so. That meant there was at least one person living or staying at the tower, and now he was about to be tortured, and then they would throw his body out of the same window he’d come in, or maybe they’d throw him while he was still alive, and whoever had found him would keep the stupid crown and be rich while laughing at him, the so famous Angel Thief. All because he’d climbed the wrong tower. Fuc-

The little animal (he was starting to suspect it wasn’t a lizard, but the angle made in difficult to see anything other than its beady little eyes) seemed to have heard something, as it jumped off of him and ran across the floor. He didn’t dare to turn his head, preferring to close his eyes. If the animal had gone to fetch whoever was about to murder him, he’d rather not know until it was too late. 

“-awake?” 

There was a voice, and it was coming closer. He’d barely had any time to register that the voice seemed to be male and kinda young when he heard the unmistakable sound of a curtain being pulled and steps coming into the room. There was a moment of silence, and then.. 

“You said he’d opened his eyes” 

The voice again. Was the person talking to the lizard? But how? Had he accidentally invaded a witch’s lair? If so, there was no way that he’d ever left the tower alive. He’d probably pissed off a powerful forest witch and now they were going to turn him into a toad, and he’d have to live the rest of his life with only the lizard as company. If the witch didn’t throw him out of the window first, of course. 

“I know you are awake” said whoever was standing in front of him. There was a hint of amusement in the voice, and maybe it was the outrage he felt when he realized that this person was having fun by torturing him, but he turned towards the direction of the voice and opened his eyes, trying to look as defiant as he could. 

There was a young man with strikingly golden hair  staring down at him. He was carrying a candle, and the light flickered over his skin, making it go from brown to golden, revealing sharp cheekbones and a thin nose.  _ Beautiful _ . His confused brain supplied the word as his eyes wandered to the man’s lips, pressed together in an almost smirk. The green animal was sitting on his shoulders, its eyes still fixed on him like he was threatening them with a knife, which seemed a little unfair considering that he was tied and gagged, unable to move or talk. 

“Who are you, and how did you find this tower?” asked the boy, in what clearly tried to be a commanding voice. Some of his worries about being tortured to death were starting to ease up; whoever this boy was, he didn’t look like he was ready to murder him. If anything, he looked nervous and slightly scared. 

After a moment the boy seemed to realize the issue with asking him questions, and gave the little lizard a nod, before setting the candle on a dresser next to the bed and approaching him slowly, like he was a dangerous animal that could attack them at any moment. In the candlelight, the boy’s eyes looked amber in color, deep and magical, and when he leaned and reached around his head to untie the gag, he looked almost ethereal. 

_ Stop it _ , he told himself. There were more important things to focus on. The pain on his head flared again as he finally dared to sit upright. The boy returned to his position near the dresser, not once taking his eyes off his prisoner. 

“I stumbled upon it. The tower” he said at last, breaking the silence. One of the boy’s eyebrows twitched a bit. He continued. “I won’t give you my name, but you can call me Angel”

“Angel, huh?” the boy tilted his head and gave him an unimpressed look. “You certainly don’t look like one”. 

“Sorry to disappoint” he muttered. “Listen, I didn’t mean to invade any private property, I swear. So, If you could be so kind as to untie me, give me back my stuff and show me the exit, I’ll be happy to never bother you again”. 

The green lizard jumped onto the bed and hit him with its tail, clearly unconvinced. Angel bent his legs to get them away from the reptile, resisting the urge to hiss at it. The boy let out a chuckle, and the lizard turned to look at him. 

“No, I think he’s telling the truth, Thomas” said the boy with a smirk. Thomas? Odd name for a pet. 

“Its name is Thomas?” he asked, making them return their attention to him. 

“Yes” said the boy, picking up the reptile and putting him back on his shoulder. “He’s my friend. And you, Angel, are not going anywhere until you listen to me.” 

“Why would I listen to you?” he snapped. “I’m tied up here. I know I sort of invaded your home, but I already told you that I didn’t mean to. Just let me go”. 

The boy sighed and extended his hands. As an impulse, Angel threw himself backwards, hitting his shoulder against the bed frame. The boy stopped. 

“My name is Roman”, he said, reaching once again for Angel’s tied hands. This time, he let Roman undo the knots. As he worked, the boy kept talking. “I’m sorry I had to tie you up, but I didn’t know if you were dangerous or what your intentions were. After all, it’s not every day that a thief falls through my window”, he explained, retreating his hands once the knots fell. 

“So you know about that” 

“The Angel Thief”, he nodded. There was no point denying it anyway. Roman gave him a look before standing up and turning to look for something on a desk. Angel used the time to untie his feet, breathing out in relief when he felt the rope falling. His heart rate finally seemed to normalize. 

“I have the bag with what you stole” said Roman as he turned to look at him. “I’ll give it back to you, but only after you’ve done something for me”

Roman handed him a little notebook, and Angel took it with a shaky hand. What if the boy was crazy and wanted him to murder someone? To his surprise, there was a drawing of the night sky on the open page, depicting something that Angel had seen ever since he was a child. 

“The floating lights?” 

“Do you know what they are?” asked Roman. There was an edge of desperation in his voice and Angel shrugged. 

“Those are paper lamps”, he said, studying the drawing in front of him. It was incredibly well done. “Every year the King and his Consort let them out into the sky in honor of the lost prince”. 

“It happens on my birthday”. Roman took the notebook back from him, and laid it gently on the dresser. The candle flickered. 

“So?” he asked after after a few seconds of silence. 

“I need you to take me there so I can see them” said Roman, looking more fierce than ever before. Everything started to make sense in Angel’s mind. 

“You can’t leave the tower”. It wasn’t a question.

“Indeed I cannot”, answered Roman. “My father doesn’t want me to leave the tower yet. Because of that, you” he paused, pointing at him with his index finger, “will be my guide. Take me there, bring me back, and I’ll give you what you want. If not, well, have fun looking for it”. 

Angel sighed, covering his face with his hands. What options did he have? He needed to take the crown to the dealer in week; otherwise he wouldn’t need to worry about the guards anymore, the dealer’s gang was far more dangerous. On the other hand, the boy was asking him to him take him right into the heart of the kingdom, where every single guard would be looking for him. Both options were downright suicidal, and he didn’t fancy dying before even turning twenty-two. 

But.. Roman had said he wasn’t allowed to even leave the tower. He looked so young, so defiant… he felt his resolve crumble under the amber eyes. 

“If I do, will you promise to give it to me in a week?” he pleaded. The boy shared a look with the lizard- Thomas, he reminded himself, and he saw them have some sort of silent conversation. Maybe the boy was a witch after all. 

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Angel”, announced Roman. We leave tomorrow morning. You’re welcome to sleep here, I’ll be outside. Good night”.

For a second, he was stunned. He was going to trust him, just like that? And what was up with his change of attitude? 

“Wait!”

Roman stopped, one hand on the curtain. “Yes?” 

“Are you going to trust me, just like that?” he asked, still surprised. The boy laughed, which only served to make him even more confused. 

“No, of course not”. Roman smiled, and then pointed to the dresser. Angel followed his hand and saw Thomas appearing out of nowhere. 

“What the fuc-” 

“Thomas is a chameleon” was all Roman said before turning around and disappearing behind the curtain, leaving alone a very confused and now slightly scared Angel. 

_ Well _ , he thought as he laid down once again, trying to ignore the chameleon’s eyes, i _ t’s gonna an interesting week. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing someone without revealing that person's real name is incredibly complicated. That's all I'm gonna say.


	5. Four: Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a lot to write this chapter, but it's finally here! Once again, Logan and Patton's story is told in a non chronological order, so this chapter is another moment in their lives that does not follow the previous chapter dedicated to them. I can answer any question you might have here in the comments or in my tumblr [white-spirit-of-darkness](white-spirit-of-darkness.tumblr.com)  
> Enjoy!

Logan had always known he'd be welcoming a child of his into the world sooner or later. Ever since he was a kid himself, his parents and tutors and nannies had told him about the importance for a king to have children that he could crown as heirs, not that he had really cared when he was seven years old. As he grew up, however, the idea of his impending marriage and hypothetical children became a certain thing in his future. 

During his teen years he'd gone on what must have been thousands of dates with princesses and noblewomen, trying to find "his perfect match" as his stepmother often said. Not one of the young and pretty ladies managed to maintain his attention for longer than a few weeks, though not because of any fault of theirs. Logan was often in awe of their intelligence and wit, and he found them charming and kind, but his brief relationships never went anywhere. He tried, of course. He tried as best as he could to be attentive and interested, but his mind just… went anywhere but the ladies he courted.  Always thinking about a new book, a different puzzle, the next lesson- he barely knew how he managed to begin any courtships at all. Those girls must have really wanted the chance to become queens one day, if they were willing to put up with such a distracted buffon, not that Logan had been the one to call himself that in the first place. 

No, that had been his father, after the fifth girl’s parents announced their choice to end the courtship, not that Logan minded; Saphira was too much a friend for him to consider her a potential wife. He wasn’t attracted to her in the slightless, and while they could have made it work, and Saphira would have been an incredible queen, they both decided that it wasn’t worth it. The only reason why they even tried in the first place was because of a prophecy that Saphira’s mother had received upon her birth, that one day her blood would pass unto the throne of Corona. As children, Logan and Saphira often joked about how he should just give up the throne to her, and save them the marriage. Funny how the universe managed to make everything fall into place. 

Logan had not married her, much to the disappointment of the entire court. They had remained friends, even if the years forced them apart when Logan was crowned King right after his twenty-first birthday and Saphira’s family moved to the northern region. She’d been the first person that Logan told about his feelings for Patton when he finally realized he had them, a hurried letter full of exclamation marks and almost unintelligible rambling. She’d also been the first to receive an invitation to their wedding a couple years later, and she’d been the one to deliver the rings in the ceremony, a beaming smile on her face as she stepped to the side. It only made sense that their paths would cross even further, taking them to the night when Logan and Patton sat next to her bedside, each of them holding one of her hands as she screamed in pain and several midwives offered encouraging words. 

Saphira, kind, selfless and wonderful, giving them the most precious gift; a gift that Logan would have never dared ask for, but had been freely offered by her, to him, because she loved him as a friend and as a King, and she said she wanted to give him and Patton the chance at having a family that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.  

When the baby’s cries filled the room, Logan could not believe what was happening. Saphira’s face was full of exhausted relief, and Logan could only watch as Patton cried while holding her, because the child they had longed for was finally there, and the senior midwife was turning to them and announcing the birth of a healthy boy. 

Logan had always known that one day he’d welcome a child of his blood into the world; it was the way nobility worked: a King had children so that the throne could be inherited. Logan had never expected his life to  take him to that night, next to his best friend and the love of his life, holding a child born out of love and happiness. 

“What will the name of the baby be, Your Majesty?” asked one of the midwives, a young woman with clear green eyes. Logan turned to look at Patton, who returned his smile with a nod. 

“I believe Lady Saphira should do the honors”, he answered, gently passing the baby back to his mother. The tired woman gave him a grateful look before smiling down at the fussy baby in her arms. 

“Aren’t you the most precious thing in the entire world?” she muttered, her soft voice interrupting the eager silence of the room. The baby was so small, so fragile, so beautiful; time seemed to stop as Saphira contemplated the child that she had brought to the world for another family to love and raise, and there was no hint of hesitation as she turned to look at Patton and offered him the child.  

“Roman”, she said, and around her the world exploded back into happy giggles and coos from the other people in the room, as her eyes found Logan’s. “His name is Roman”.

Patton was now holding the baby, the tiny human that now held all of Logan’s heart in his tiny hands, unaware that he had lots of people waiting to hear about him, to learn of his name. 

“Oh, Saphira” he said, falling to his knees next to her bed, grabbing one of her hands and holding it, sure that there was nothing as precious as her benevolence, as selfless as her love. “I couldn’t have chosen a better name. I cannot thank you enough, I cannot express the magnitude of what I feel, because what you’ve done for me, for us, goes beyond what can be thanked with mere words. I promise to you that you’ll never find yourself in need of anything, and I extend this promise to every single one of your descendants for as long as my family survives, because without you I wouldn’t have a family to speak of”.

“That is a powerful promise to make, my King” mused Saphira, her voice a bit choked up, which made Logan look up and meet her eyes. She looked like an angel, the light coming from the lamps on the walls framing her face like a halo, and she was crying, too. “All I ask is that you love him well, that you never stop loving your family. That would be enough for me, for I don’t desire riches nor fame. Upon my birth a seer predicted that one day my blood would join yours, and tonight the prophecy has proven true, in the most beautifully unexpected way possible”.

“Unexpected indeed”. Logan smiled, remembering the countless moments of teasing and laughter between them, all the moments that had led them there. Patton was crying silently, the tears falling down his smiling face, the baby in his arms sleeping soundly. The little blanket that covered him had been crafted by Patton’s own hands, months of careful and dedicated work turned into a delicate expression of the purest love. The red and yellow thread that had been transformed into an intricate pattern of crowns and hearts had formed a soft blanket that was finally wrapped around the child, keeping him warm and protected. 

Unexpected was alright, he thought to himself as the midwives asked them to leave the room, so that the exhausted mother could rest. The baby was gently laid in a crib next to Saphira’s bed, the peaceful atmosphere undisturbed by the outside world. Unexpected was good, he thought as he and Patton walked hand in hand through the corridor towards the castle doors, not caring that they were wearing their pajamas or that they looked tired, ready to announce to the kingdom the wonderful news. Unexpected was perfect, he thought as the spokesman’s voice boomed above them in the first rays of sunlight of the most wondrous morning of his life. 

Patton was at his side, and they belonged together, and their love was now welcoming a new person to the world, and Saphira was probably asleep, away from all the noisy merriment that filled the streets as the trumpets announced the birth of Prince Roman on the early hours of the third day of the sixth month. 

“Logan?”

“Yes, my love?” 

Patton was resting his head on Logan’s shoulder, his voice barely audible under the cheers of   _ Long live Prince Roman! _ that resonated through the courtyard and beyond. 

“I love you” was all he said, and Logan chuckled. 

Unexpected, very unexpected indeed, but he would not change it for anything in the entire world. 

“I love you, too”.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at white-spirit-of-darkness.tumblr.com  
> Come say hi if you want!


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